The Boy at the Coffee Shop
by Abnegation Ravenclaw
Summary: Katniss is heartbroken after her breakup with her boyfriend, Gale. Her sister, Prim, takes her to the new coffee shop in town in an effort to cheer her up, and they may just meet somebody by the name of Peeta Mellark in the process. Everlark AU
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everybody! I'm back with a new story, um... Hopefully you'll enjoy it. I'll update weekly, probably on either Tuesday or Friday. Not much to say here...**

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

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><p><em>You were in college working part time waiting tables<em>

_left a small town, never looked back_

_I was a flight risk with a fear of falling_

_Wondering why we bother with love if it never lasts_

-Taylor Swift

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><p><span>Katniss' POV<span>

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><p>"Katniss, you really should get out." My sister, Prim, tells me anxiously. "You've been working nonstop for the past eight hours. I think you deserve a break."<p>

"I'm fine," I say, more to myself than her. Yesterday, I broke up with Gale, who had been my boyfriend for almost two years. Three days before our two year anniversary, and BAM! He goes and breaks up with me. The breakup really hit me hard, because I was really sure that he was the one. I often fantasized about getting married to him. Gale even talked about having kids once. But now all of that is gone. I've distracted myself by doing schoolwork for my college classes nonstop, but after so many hours, my eyes burn with fatigue and I could really go for a coffee or something.

"Are you sure?" Prim looks at me sternly. Gosh, when did she get so grown up and sophisticated? It felt like she was just learning to crawl yesterday.

"Fine," I give in and sigh. "I could really go for a coffee right now."

"Awesome, there's a new coffee shop about a half mile from here." My sister replies absentmindedly. "It just opened up about a week ago and I hear it's good."

"Okay," I shove all of my notes back into my binder. "We should walk. It's not too far away, plus we can catch up. I haven't seen you as much with all of my classes."

"Good idea," Prim agrees, grabbing her purse.

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><p>"So how's school?" I ask. Prim shrugs.<p>

"Same old classes and people, I guess." She answers, her blue eyes focused on a butterfly in the air. "Nothing too interesting."

"You graduate in three years," I tell her. Again, she shrugs. "What are you planning to do after that?"

"It's pretty far away..." My sister says uncertainly.

"Not really," I point out. "Trust me, time flies."

"Well, okay..." Prim sighs, blowing a strand of her blonde hair off of her face. "I want to go to college, and after that I would really like to go to medical school and become a doctor."

"Any kind of doctor in particular?"

"I don't know." She says. "Maybe a pediatrician, I like kids."

"You'd make an excellent pediatrician." I tell her. "Or maybe you could help deliver babies, or treat cancer, or... I don't know." We both chuckle.

"I don't know, I just like the idea of saving lives." Prim smiles. "Plus, the study of the human body is fascinating. Oh, look, here's the coffee shop."

I look up at the overly cheery sign that reads "_Espresso Yourself_". I chuckle at the use of the lame pun.

"Looks nice," Prim mutters. Well, that's one way to put it. The walls are a bright green, with flowers, coffee beans, and butterflies painted on it. In the middle of the shop is a giant painting of a coffee cup with a smiley face. The whole interior of the shop is way too cheery for my taste, but you know, that may just be me.

"Table for two?" The hostess asks. Like the whole coffee shop, the girl is overly cheery and she has yellowish hair and a huge friendly smile. I catch a glimpse of her name tag. Her name is Delly.

"Yes, please." Prim answers politely. Delly leads us over to a small table with two chairs by the window. The view is covered up slightly by the _"free wifi_" sign on the outside of the window. Once we're seated, the hostess leaves and my sister and I browse the long list of coffees, frappuchinos, and smoothies.

"Hi there." Someone says. My head jerks up and I meet the gaze of our waiter. "I'm Peeta and I'll be your server today. What can I get you lovely ladies today?" He looks around my age, with golden blonde hair, a kind smile, and kind eyes.

"Umm, I'll have the strawberry banana smoothie," Prim answers. Peeta scribbles her order down on a notepad and then looks expectantly at me.

"And for you, Sweetheart?" He asks. Suddenly, I freeze up and momentarily forget was I was going to say.

"Umm, I..." I pause. What did he ask? Crap. Crap crap crap crap crap.

"Umm, she'll have just a medium coffee." My sister says quickly, giving me an inquisitive look.

"Okay." Our waiter scribbles down the second order down on his notepad. "Would you like to try our cupcakes? They're a dollar apiece."

"Yes," I say quickly. "We'll each have one."

"Alright then." Peeta smiles at both of us and my heart rate speeds up dramatically. "I'll be right back with your order." As he walks off, Prim nudges me with a knowing smile.

"What?" I ask defensively, even though I'm blushing by now.

"You like him, don't you?" She asks. Man, my sister is way too smart.

"I just met him." I reply, trying to act natural. "He's literally just our waiter."

"Yeah, but he's attractive." Prim points out. "He seems nice enough, and he called you sweetheart."

"So?" I ask. "Maybe he was just trying to get my attention or something."

"I think he likes you too." My younger sister continues.

"Prim, even if I did like him, it's too soon after Gale." I snap, my eyes filling with tears.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry." Prim says, her eyes widening. "That was really stupid of me."

Finally, Peeta comes with our drinks,a me I sip my coffee in silence.

"I'm going to the bathroom," I tell Prim. I stand up and as I'm heading over, I slam into a certain blonde haired waiter. Yup, that's right, I ran into Peeta. "Sorry," I mutter, not making eye contact.

"Oh, hi!" He exclaims. "Not to be stalkerish or anything, but do you think I could get your number?"

"My number?" I repeat. "Umm, sure."

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><p><strong>Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**I feel so bad. I kinda forgot about this story, oops**.

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><p><em>Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love. -Mother Teresa<em>

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><p><span>Katniss' POV<span>

I check my phone for the millionth time this weekend. Peeta still hasn't called or texted or anything. Not that that's a huge deal or anything, but at least a text would be nice.

"He still hasn't texted you?" Prim asks.

"Nope," I sigh.

"Call him." She says.

"What?"

"Just call him," she repeats.

"I don't have his number, he just has mine," I reply dismissively. "Besides, it's not a big deal. I'll let him call me when he wants to call me."

"Mmhm," Prim says, grinning knowingly at me. "You really want him to call you, don't you?"

"Maybe..." I tell her. "I umm... I have some schoolwork to catch up on so I think I'm just going to go to my room for some peace and quiet."

"Okay," Prim turns a page in her book. "Let me know if you want to go do something later."

"Alright," I promise, heading down the hallway to my bedroom. I open the door and heave my books over to my desk. I absolutely love my room. The walls are a light evergreen, which is my favorite color (it's kind of funny because my last name is Everdeen, but that doesn't matter). Then I have a queen sized bed with a cream colored duvet and tons of soft, fluffy pillows. Then I have a bookshelf that's filled with everything from Harry Potter to biology textbooks.

My desk sits in the corner, books, pencils, paper, and notebooks scattered all around it. I usually don't keep my workspace very neat, is that bad? Anyway, on the wall just above my desk is a bulletin board filled with pictures of me with Prim, some relatives, and tons and tons of pictures of Gale and I. My eyes fill up with tears as I look at the pictures that were taken when we were together not too long ago. We both looked so happy and carefree then; I'm smiling and he's kissing my cheek, or we're both kissing in front of a tree, or even us just sitting in our special spot.

When Gale and I first met, we ran into each other at this trail in the woods, not too far from my house. Ever since then, we would always meet up there and talk or do whatever every day. That special spot is where I had my first kiss with him, and it's where we introduced our families to each other, and where he told me he loved me. It's also where he broke up with me, but I'd rather not talk about that just yet.

I sit down at my desk and pull out my laptop, typing out an essay. I'm taking classes to be a high school science teacher, because being a teacher has been my dream ever since I was like, three. I'm just wrapping up the fourth paragraph when my phone starts ringing. In that moment, I drop everything and run over to my phone, which is sitting on my bed. I pick up the phone and raise it to my ear.

"Hello?" I ask quickly.

"Hey, Katniss, it's Peeta." The caller answers. "How are you doing?"

"I'm uh, I'm doing fine." I reply. "You?"

"I'm doing great." His tone implies that he's smiling at the other end, and suddenly the thought of Peeta's smile makes my heart speed up. "Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to meet up with me at the park, you know, just to kind of get to know each other."

"Umm, sure." I can't help the grin from taking over my expression. "I'll meet you there at four?"

"Sounds great. See you then." And Peeta hangs up the phone. At first,I feel disappointed that the conversation was so short. Then I feel angry at myself for feeling that way.

"Sooooo..." Prim says from the doorway. I whip around and stare down my fifteen year old sister. "Looks like somebody has a date."

"It's not a date, it's just a get together." I protest, suddenly realizing how ridiculous that sounds. "I mean, uh, Peeta just invited me to the park so that we could get to know each other. You can't go on a date with someone that you just met yesterday and he was your waiter at a coffee shop."

"I see your point." My sister sweeps her long blonde hair over to one shoulder. "And I know that it's too soon for you after Gale. But I think Peeta could be a great guy for you."

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><p>At four o'clock sharp, I'm sitting on a park bench, keeping an eye out for Peeta.<p>

"Where the heck is he?" I mutter under my breath.

"I'm right here," someone says from behind me.

"Oh my gosh!" I jump up from my spot at the bench and whirl around to face the person who spoke. I'm met with the grinning face of Peeta, and I smack him lightly on the shoulder. "You scared me." I say accusingly.

"I'm sorry. I was trying to... You know what, never mind." He says. "The point is my plan kind of messed up... A lot. Should we walk around a little bit?"

And so Peeta and I walk around the beautiful, sunny park, chatting. I learn that his last name is Mellark, he has two brothers, and his parents own a bakery.

"You see, the way the whole friendship thing works is that we have to get to know each other," Peeta states. "So, um, do you go to a college or..." I tell him that I go to Panem University and I'm just home for the spring break right now. We take turns asking each other questions after that.

"Why do you work at the coffee shop, then, when you could work at the bakery?" I ask.

"I wanted something different." He shrugs. "The coffee shop paid better, so I decided to apply to help pay for my college classes." I nod, he asks me a question, and this keeps up for a while.

"What's your favorite color?" I ask.

"Orange," Peeta answers.

"Orange, like a pumpkin?"

"No, like, sunset orange." He tells me. "What's your favorite color?"

"Green," I smile. "Oh, I should go. I'll text you or call you later." And I say goodbye, hop into my car, and drive home.

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><p><strong>Can I get a few reviews please? Btw I'll try to update once a month at least<strong>.


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